Am I cheating or is it just good role playing?

[mrtwisties]

Hey everyone. I'd appreciate having an outside pair of eyes for some house rules that I'm considering. As the title hints, I'm not sure whether this is good role playing or whether I'm just cheating.

I'm about to start a Saka campaign where we migrate westward and establish new homelands in Hungary and Anatolia. The idea is that the Saka will become an austere warrior elite while Greek satraps manage our prosperous kingdom from Pella or Byzantion. Kind of like what happened in the Indus valley, but several thousand kilometres further west.

So that I don't feel bad about the Saka Kingdom being a poverty stricken shadow of its former glory, I want to implement these house rules from the moment that Greek satraps first start working for the Saka (ie after we bribe a Greek general):

Allied Kingdoms can build paved roads
Allied Kingdoms can build mines
Allied Kingdoms can build other bits and pieces of major infrastructure that no self respecting empire should be without


So, what do you think? Cheating or role playing? I figure that if the Saka had settled in the area, they'd have eventually come around to the idea of having these things.

[konny]

When they are allied states they should have as much of their original culture as possible. Or, take a look at the Great Migartion: the Barbarians at least tried to take as much from the Roman culture as possible. In most parts of Western Europe the Roman roads were still the major highways in the early 19th Century, but in very poor condition because no one was able/had the money to maintain them in a proper way for most of the centuries.

[Digby Tatham Warter]

I think you are right, that the Allied gov's should be able to build whatever they could.
Look at the potential unit roster for Saka, they have afterall, the choice to utilise some excellent Hellentic troops, and to do so means they would utilise others full potential, including infrastucture.

[Tellos Athenaios]

I think you should allow the Allies to fully develop themselves; I mean it's not like they'd enjoy being the very worst of provincial backwaters. If a backwater, at least one with a splendid theatre and awesome temple! Consider it funding the loyal local petty king to keep the people happy.

[mrtwisties]

Well, I don't know about that. The Hellenes are uppity enough without that sort of encouragement. :)

[Long lost Caesar]

slightly off topic here....
hey konny, i was watching this thing yesterday that was talking about the barbarians, and, among many other things, it proved that the celts were actually amazing road builders, building wide tracks across marshland in ireland to allow easy, safe access and roads much the same in northern germany. so maybe the barbarians who took over roman land didnt repair the roads not because they couldnt, but because they didnt want to...?

[konny]

I am no expert for Celtic road building, but can tell for sure that the European road system was in an awfull condition in the 18th and 19th Century compared to the Roman times - and that it was not because the people were to lazy to repair the roads.

[pezhetairoi]

...It was because people were still using the Roman roads at that time, argh.